More Pinoys fear being victims of EJK — SWS
MANILA, Philippines — Majority of Filipinos said they fear they could become victims of extrajudicial killings or EJKs, a new Social Weather Stations survey released Friday found.
Results of a December 16 to 19, 2018 poll of 1,440 adults showed 78 percent of Filipinos are worried that they, or anyone they know, will be a victim of summary execution, up by five points from the 73 percent posted in June 2017.
SWS also reported that 50 percent of respondents said only the poor are victimized by extralegal killings. Meanwhile, 3 percent believe only the rich become EJK victims while 48 percent said the problem does not choose a class.
President Rodrigo Duterte, a former city mayor, beat his more moneyed rivals and won the race to Malacañang in 2016 promising to eradicate crime and solve his country’s drug menace in three to six months.
He later sought a six-month extension to his drug crackdown, saying he was shocked by the magnitude of the problem when he became president.
But human rights watchdogs at home and abroad say most of the fatalities in the government’s anti-narcotic drive are extrajudicial killings committed by cops, something the government has vehemently denied.
Last month, Duterte said his war on drugs would be “harsher” and “bloodier” in the coming days, even as he conceded that "nobody can solve it [drug problem] in due time."
In the same report, SWS said 12 percent of respondents personally know a victim of EJK, down by three points from 15 percent recorded in the June 2017 reading.
The pollster also said 71 percent of Filipinos believe that the administration is “serious in solving the EJK problem.” This is five points above from 66 percent previously. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral
- Latest
- Trending
